Phone logs obtained by WLWT News 5 show that a pharmacist called to report the unresponsive woman at 4:34 p.m. Two more calls were placed from the drugstore before emergency medical technicians showed up 25 minutes later.

The responding crew was from Evendale, 11 minutes after they were dispatched. Dispatchers initially called Deer Park, before calling on Golf Manor, Madeira and Reading, which all were already out on calls.

"It was parked right near CVS pharmacy because the fire was right down the street," said Don Newman, chief of the Deer Park-Silverton fire department. "They probably saw that and wondered why they didn't respond."

Newman said he can only send the crews he has, and the fire came first.

"(Wednesday) they got on the engines, but then they couldn't take the medic unit," he said. "That's the reason our medic unit was out of service."

Newman said most area fire departments are stretching their funds, firefighters and resources.

"It's budget issues," Newman said. "We'd all like to have more man power than we've got right now, but we just can't have it, and we do the best with what we've got."

The woman who passed out at the pharmacy is improving, officials said, but Whittley remains in critical condition.